Greetings All blessings for the New Year. Here are two really good articles on level design, I have not read them in their entirety, but a brief scan makes them jewels...enjoy... I included an excerpt from it as well. There are links for level 1 and level 2.

Peace.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19990416/level_design_01.htm (level 1)

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19990423/level_design_01.htm (level 2)

"This article is the first of a two-part series covering theories behind level design, establishing some rules for level creation. The intention is to aid those new to the field who want to design levels for pleasure or pursue a career in level design."